Wine through the vegetarian eye

Ok once and for all: Is wine as really good for my body as it is for my spirits?

The short answer?
Yes, study after study has shown that a daily glass of wine shrinks the risk of heart disease, strokes, ulcers and some kinds of cancer, not to mention-no surprise here-making stress less stressful and food more delicious.

Q: Is wine a vegetarian drink?

A: Yes and no. Wine makers often use animal-derived products to put a final polish on wine. They're called fining agents, and vegetarians are okay with most of these, but vegans are not. Fining agents remove proteins and other suspended materials from wine. Many of these fining agents are earth-based, such as bentonite, a silica clay, but some are animal-based. They include egg whites to "brighten" red wines; a milk protein called casein to make wine taste softer; beef-based gelatin to remove any bitterness; and sturgeon-derived isinglass, which is a clarifier. Most types of fining agents fall to the bottom of wine and are removed before bottling.

Wine makers aren't required to list on their labels which, if any, fining agents were used. So to learn if your favorite vintage has been treated with them, contact the wine maker. A few companies produce vegan wines, including Frey Vineyards (800.760.3739) and Hallcrest Vineyards (800.211.6630). Kosher-certified wines that are American-made can also be animal-free.

Q: FROM A VEGETARIAN POINT OF VIEW, WHAT SHOULD I TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHEN CHOOSING A WINE?

A: You know the rule about pairing white wines with fish or white meat and red wines with red meat? Here's a simple rule that works with most vegetarian foods: For white meat, substitute white beans and green vegetables; for red meat, substitute brown vegetables (such as winter root vegetables, brown beans and potatoes) and tomato-based dishes such as lasagna.

In general, robust dishes such as macaroni and cheese pair well with robust red wines, and dishes containing fruit or honey go best with fruity wines. Exceptions exist, of course. For example, really salty, tangy or even spicy Asian dishes go surprisingly well with a sweet wine. Don't sweat breaking "the rules"; they're just guidelines. In the end, the right wine is whatever tastes good to you.

Q: IS THERE A DOWNSIDE TO DRINKING WINE?

A: Did we mention calories? A 3.5-ounce serving of wine has about 70-75 calories. Keep in mind that the average wineglass holds 8 ounces or more, so usually a serving means a glass should be half full or less. Alcohol, by the way, is not considered a food, so it isn't covered by any of the nutrition labeling laws.

Also, a couple of substances in wine give some people headaches--sulfites, for one. These compounds occur naturally in grape skins, and some people react to them. But sulfites actually have a couple of purposes: They prevent microbial growth and prolong wine's shelf life. Wine can be made without sulfites, but it's complicated, and the finished product lasts only 18 months or so. This is fine if you like "young" wines such as Chardonnay. The second potential troublemaker: tannins, which are bitter substances used by certain plants to dissuade animals from gnawing on them. Ironically, humans like the taste of tannins, even though in some unlucky people they can trigger not just headaches but full-blown migraines.

A word about moderation: The US Department of Agriculture suggests a daily limit of one drink for women and two for men. Count a drink as 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine or one shot of liquor or spirits. Exceed your gender limits and not only do the health benefits quickly recede but the risks rise: Alcohol can slow brain activity, affecting alertness, coordination and reaction speed.

WINE'S DISEASE-FIGHTING powers

Red wine alters blood lipid levels, which is a fancy way of saying it keeps our blood vessels clean. A decade ago, researchers at the University of California-Davis wondered why the Brie-eating, cream-loving French weren't keeling over from heart attacks at nearly the rate Americans were. The California scientists discovered that the wine that the French quaffed with dinner cut their total cholesterol and increased their HDL, (the "good" cholesterol).

How? Polyphenols, the chemical substances in the skins of grapes that are found in all kinds of wine (ordinary grape juice too), reduce something known as endothelin-1, a substance that makes arteries become stiff and clogged. But it turns out that wine isn't the only source of protective polyphenols. Beer and hard liquor are also rich in them. Do they have the same health benefits as wine when consumed in moderation? "The data suggest that, yes, all alcohols are equivalent," says Alice Lichtenstein, D.Sc., Gershoff Professor of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.

1 STARVING OUT CANCER Resveratrol, an antioxidant present in the skins of red grapes, helps starve cancer cells of a key protein called NF-kB. Researchers at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center determined in 2004 that cancer cells are "addicted" to NF-kB. Cut off their supply, and the cells shrivel.

2 FIGHTING ULCERS Drinking wine in moderation also helps ward off h. pylori, the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers. In one study, wine cut h. pylori by 11 percent, says a 2002 report in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

3 STAVING OFF STROKES Wine helps prevent strokes by keeping our arteries healthy. A study published in 1999 in The New England Journal of Medicine found that even very moderate drinking--as little as a glass of wine a week--lowered the risk of the most common strokes (ischemic) by around 20 percent.